Virginia's "Triple Crown" hike involves a strenuous overnight backpack to three of the area's most famed vistas: McAfee Knob, Dragons Tooth, and Tinker Cliffs. All of these vistas are known for their sweeping long-range panoramas. While getting to all three of these overlooks in one hike requires serious skills and gear, hiking to any one of the three involves just a simple day hike. Out of the three, Dragons Tooth - as well as the hike to it - might be the most unusual. Dragons Tooth is a unique rock formation that towers like a spire at the southwest end of Cove Mountain. Those who are brave and skilled enough to climb to the top will be awarded with a stunning panorama that encompasses much of Catawba Valley. The hike to Dragons Tooth is no picnic either; this short stretch of the AT - dubbed as the most rugged stretch of the long-distance footpath south of Maine - involves a tricky and time-consuming rock scramble. This hike occurred on Saturday, November 26th, 2016. My plan was to hike the Dragons Tooth Trail to Lost Spectacles Gap, from where I would hike to Dragons Tooth out and back along the Appalachian Trail. After that, I would loop my return route by following the AT northeast to the Boy Scout Trail, concluding the hike along the Boy Scout Trail. This hike was the fifth of seven hikes that I did during a four-day Thanksgiving trip to the mountains of western Virginia.​

About Me

Mark OlegMy name is Mark,​I am 16 years old, and I've been hiking since 2011. I started by hiking occasionally short trails in the Georgia State Parks, as I live in Atlanta. Then in 2012, I expanded my trips into other states of the Southeast. During the year of 2013, I started hiking more in the National Forests and especially in the Carolinas and Tennessee. My other hobbies include chess, science, meteorology, and music. In fact, I am a weather forecaster with 3 years of experience. I am a student at European School of Music where I learned that music and nature have a lot in common. Listening to good music inspires me to capture nature's beauty on the camera in different aspects that also make me recall many beautiful music pieces that I've heard.